Michelle Sixta, Marin County, CAMember Since November 2009Artist StatementArtist Statement

My work comes out of an intuitive creative process and is inspired by the natural world. While enjoying one of my favorite pastimes, hiking, I photograph scenes and details along the way. I look for bold imagery, textures, colors, shadows and light patterns. I also bring motion into my images by purposefully playing with slower shutter speeds. As I review my digital images, I get a “hit” on the ones that I should use for my next creation. I proceed to play with the various images and transform them into bright, bold, iconic pieces that convey the luminescence and earthy textures found in nature.

BIO

Michelle Sixta was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1961. Throughout her art education she explored a full range of mediums, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and interior design. During this time she was awarded a scholarship to the Kansas City Art Institute. It was photography that kept her interest, inspired in great part by her father who was an avid photographer when he was a young man.

Michelle received her degree in commercial printing at the University of Central Missouri in 1983. Her affinity for “hands-on” work drew her interest toward screen printing. While learning about the various printing processes, she continued to develop her photography skills and worked as a campus photographer for 4 years.

After college, Michelle worked in the commercial printing field for 6 years in various positions from production planning to sales representative. She started out at a major screen printing company that had Hallmark Cards as one of its main clients. It was here that she began to truly understand what is involved in taking an artistic creation from the drawing board to the finished product. In 1985, Michelle moved to Sacramento, California and became a sales representative for a high-end offset printer Fong & Fong, known for producing fine art prints.

In 1992 Michelle moved to downtown Oakland and lived near Lake Merritt. She was taken with the abundance and uniqueness of birds at this wildlife refuge, and got into “birding.” A multitude of birdwatching hikes helped her to learn more about the local terrain. She also took a wilderness skills class that opened her eyes to many of the details in the natural world.

In the late 90’s, while working in the Marketing Communications Group for a major corporation, she developed skills in email and website design. In the course of project work, she was exposed to an artist who did “composite photography” which inspired her to explore this media. It was a perfect conduit, allowing Michelle to combine many of her interests and skills to create artwork that reflects her vision of the natural world. She launched her first collection to the public in January of 2010.

1% of all Michelle Sixta net profits from the sale of her art is donated to wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation.